Ukuleles and Bare Feet

It has been hot this week. I am struggling to keep enough water on the lawn and trees and garden; there are already parts of our yard that are done for and have turned crispy brown. Our hayfields on the other hand, are still startling green. I am relieved haying season hasn’t started yet, but I have made advance arrangements to have another farmer bale it. We have a small baler of our own, but now that I am busy raising our two small children, we prefer to get as much of our hay crop baled into large bales that we can then move and stack with the tractor, instead of moving and stacking them by hand. Large bales are less work.

The beautiful thing about this weather is the little creek that runs through our property. The boys and I spent some much needed R&R time down there earlier in the week; it is almost time to go again. They had fun splashing and playing in the shallows, and it was nice to get some time to relax for myself. When it gets hot like this I am reminded of an old bit of mothers’ wisdom: if you have a cranky baby, put them in a cool bath to play in the water. It is very true!

I’ve been playing a lot of music this last week; as I’ve taken on worship duties at my church, I’ve been re-organizing my songbook. It has been nice to have a regular “gig” to play music for; as I have been a stay-at-home mom for the last four years, I have learned I need some type of goal or outside work to stay busy with so I don’t get depressed. Self-knowledge like this is valuable as a parent.

I also taught a group ukulele class at my local library a week or so ago and it has been nice to get back into teaching. This morning I created an ukulele study group on Facebook to foster this new direction, and the library has contacted me about teaching a series of ukulele classes with them later in the year. It is a different direction from previous things I have tried, musically, but I am enjoying it. Being a “gigging musician” has pressures... Pressures my life is not well-suited to handle in this season of motherhood and farming. In some ways, it has been a challenge to let go of the dream, to accept that being an entertainer may not be in God’s immediate plan for my life, but in others, the realization of being called to “bloom where you are planted” has brought me much peace. I can still play at church, I will always play at home for my own and my family’s enjoyment, and I am still able to spread my passion through online venues such as Facebook and Steemit. And in many ways, realizing how free I am these days to teach what lights my heart on fire, and to play the songs I want to play (instead of playing what everyone else wants to hear), has me excited for this “new identity” in my spiritual and emotional growth.

It’s a good life. 💕